MANILA, Philippines- College graduates seeking jobs may find opportunities in the government as 218,639 permanent positions are expected to be unfilled this year.

More than 200,000 permanent positions in the government await job seekers.
PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters

According to Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, a vacancy of more than 200,000 will be available this year as only 1.295 million out of 1.514 million permanent job positions will be occupied. Recto said that the government should fill these vacancies in order to decrease the number jobless Pinoys, particularly among the youth.

Currently, there are about 536,072 unemployed college graduates in the Philippines. They comprise for the largest sector in the unemployed pool.

The Department of Health (DOH) will be recruiting 21,118 new employees including 15,727 nurses, 946 doctors, 308 medical technologists, 3,100 midwives and 324 dentists. Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) will be offering 62,320 new teaching positions.

Job seekers may also find career opportunities at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (9,835), Judiciary (9,914), Department of Agriculture (4,633),Commission on Audit (6,350), Bureau of Fire Protection (2,729), and Philippine Coast Guard (1,108).

(If they need more traffic police, road maintenance equipment operators, flood control engineers, teachers, dentists, as well as employees in busy agencies, that’s where we will add personnel.)

Furthermore, Recto revealed that the Congress has approved an allocation of P8 billion for new job positions.

“While not all of these slots must be filled urgently—in fact there may be no need to fill some of them for reasons of efficiency and economy—they still show career opportunities in public service for those with the qualifications and the drive to take them,” Recto added.